Despite receiving a B.A. and M.B.A. from Yale, Mendillo scooped up the top job at her alma mater's rival last year. She had previously worked at Harvard from 1987 to 2002, holding several senior positions including vice president, and then moved to Wellesley College as chief investment officer until mid-2008. She's now responsible for over $44 billion in assets, but like many of her competitors, she is scrambling to make up for a falling endowment, which reportedly plunged 22% in the fiscal first quarter of 2009. —Jenna Goudreau

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